Someday
by C.Queen
Summary: When Teddy goes to take a look at a former Black family heirloom, he never expected it to be a painting. He certainly never expected said painting to be of Regulus Black, with the doomed teenage wizard actually smiling in the picture. Most of all though, he didn't expect to start having the strangest dreams, as he sees Regulus through the eyes of the painter.
1. How You Remind Me

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's the way it's gotta be according to the lawyers.

How You Remind Me

In the grand scheme of things there was very little Teddy wanted to do more than go home, take a shower, possibly eat something to shut up the grumblings in his stomach, and then fall face down on his bed and sleep for the next twenty odd hours. He most definitely had no interest in going by an antique shop to take a look at a possible Black family heirloom, that odds were he wouldn't have even the slightest interest in buying. For that matter it was the very rare piece of her family's history that could even interest his grandmother, and she had actually spent a portion of her life with the Black name. So yes, the fact that he was going to the shop at all had more to do with good manners than any desire Teddy had to look upon something that maybe had once belonged to a family he would have rather not shared blood with if that had been an option. Provided he still had the same grandmother, he mentally amended, as he wouldn't trade her for anyone even if she was very Black sometimes.

Logically Teddy knew that he could have just sent a letter to the shop's owner explaining that having worked non-stop for basically three days in a row, and that he was in no condition to do anything but sleep, but the shop was on his way home and it would bug him, wondering about what had the shop keeper so excited about whatever it was he was going to see. Of course the bloke had obviously convinced himself that there was going to be a sale and therefore money in it for him, but the owner was also a decent chap so…so to hell with it he was dropping by the bloody shop and then going home and likely just sleeping, the rest of it be damned.

Arriving at his destination he took a moment to yawn loud and long enough to crack his jaw before rubbing his hands over his tired face, slapping some color into them, and then reaching for the door handle to let himself in, the cheerful bell that rang in response making Teddy want to rip it off said door and shove it down someone's throat.

Yeah…he really, really needed some sleep before he cursed somebody.

And that someone could very well be the shop owner, the man coming over to him to start yapping away about this wonderful find he had to show him, though most of it just sounded to Teddy like he'd been stuck in a room full of really hyper, really loud Boston terriers and Pomeranians. A nightmare by anyone sane's standards in his books.

Thankfully he apparently could get by with just nodding in response to whatever the man was saying to him, or he was right up until he was given what was probably supposed to be a light shove in the right direction, but instead had him stumbling forward and then, seeing what rested on the easel that had been set up in the back of the shop, he forgot everything but the lone canvas and the person depicted upon it.

"What the hell…."

On some level Teddy knew that the portrait he was looking at was of Regulus Black, he'd seen photographs of that particular ancestor and therefore knew what the teenager had looked like, but he had to be even more sleep deprived than he'd realized because that couldn't be his grandmother's cousin. Regulus Black had never worn the expression he wore in the portrait in his sadly very short and badly lived life. He looked…

Rubbing his eyes again to make sure he wasn't just seeing things, Teddy confirmed that yes, yes Regulus Black had actually been captured smiling, and the look in those dark eyes were, dare he say it, actually soft and possibly even loving? What the fuck?!

"I know, the expression doesn't fit my remembrance of him at all either." The shopkeeper told him, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "But on the back is his full name and the date, it was painted about a year before he died. The artist just did initials, and I don't recognize them or the artist's style by the way. My guess would be it was done by a very talented amateur, a relative or friend perhaps? Generally when the Black family had formal portraits done they were always by well-known artists."

"He's smiling."

"Yes, yes he is."

"He's SMILING!"

Biting down on his bottom lip to hide his amusement, the shopkeeper reminded himself that he'd had a similar reaction, to the point where his wife had been worried he'd been jinxed to say those words over and over again. It was completely understandable given the subject of the artwork. "I thought I'd give you and your grandmother first crack at it, I'd imagine Mrs. Malfoy will want it otherwise."

"I don't know…the smiling thing might be a problem for her." Shaking his head Teddy shoved his hands into his pockets, still unable to wrap his head around what he was seeing. And maybe it was the fact that he was tired and hungry, but he was actually thinking he might just buy the portrait for himself. The more he looked at it the more he felt compelled to buy it. Like it should and was meant to belong to him. Which was strange, especially since he didn't exactly have money to throw around on things he really didn't remotely need…but yeah…he had to have this painting.

"How much?"

Naming his price the shopkeeper wasn't remotely surprised to see the boy's eyes flatten in a way that was very Black, complete with an eye color change for added emphasis. Most people didn't know how to haggle anymore, he thought as he stopped short of rubbing his hands together with glee, but this boy had been raised by one of the best.

This was going to be so much fun.

)

"Teddy…I have lived seventy-nine years, spent seventeen years with Bellatrix for a sister, and tutored your grandfather for a year before marrying him despite his bloodlines and many peculiarities. I've lived through two wars, disownment by my family, the loss of your grandfather and parents, and I have lived in two different centuries and all the changes that come with that…and I don't think I've ever laid eyes on something that's shocked me as much as this portrait."

Wrapping one arm around his grandmother's waist, Teddy nodded in absolute agreement.

"He's smiling. He looks happy and-that's love in his eyes." Andromeda couldn't get over that, especially since they were twins to her own, which meant that that was possibly what she'd looked like which was just disconcerting. "Regulus was only a boy when I left the family, but still…I don't recall him ever smiling like that, much less… You haven't had any luck finding out who the artist is? Because frankly, I'm wondering if he or she just guessed what Regulus would look like with that expression and painted what they imagined."

"That did occur to me and no, no real luck so far." And it was driving him nuts. "I talked to the most art knowledgeable person I know and he didn't recognize the name or the style. I'm hoping to get my hands on the yearbooks from when Regulus was in school, maybe someone in his year did it."

"So a Pureblood with the initials T.P." Tapping her fingers against her side, Andromeda shook her head, hating how her memory was deteriorating the older she got. "The Prewetts might have had a boy close to Regulus's age, I think, and then there were the Princes, the one branch had at least four children around that time if memory serves. Harry's father might have had some second cousins that young, there was also the Parkinsons, and the Podmores."

"It might not have been a Pureblood though, especially if the expression is faked. Maybe someone fancied him and painted it without him even knowing about it. He was pretty gorgeous after all."

"Naturally. He was a Black."

Teddy bit back a grin. "I don't know. Even when I was a kid Narcissa looked like she-"

"Being married to Lucius Malfoy for this long will do that." Interrupting before he said something she'd have to call him on, Andromeda saved them both the lecture and asked instead that he keep her abreast of any new developments when it came to the portrait.

"Of course."

Holding up the last photograph they'd found around the house of Regulus Black, Teddy compared it again, for the billionth time, to the portrait he'd hung up in his office. He'd almost hung it up in his bedroom, but the urge to do that had freaked him out enough that he'd settled for his second most used room.

"He looks so serious and old in this picture." Not physically old, Teddy mentally amended, but there was something about the eyes and the set of the boy-man's jaw that said in his short life Regulus had been forced by nature or circumstances to mature far too quickly.

"I would imagine my aunt and uncle were particularly hard on him after both Sirius and I were disowned. From what I remember he was a very quiet and well behaved child…I hope that smile was one he actually wore towards the end of his life. That he had someone he loved enough to look that way, thinking of them." There was just a hint of grief for her forever teenage cousin in Andromeda's voice, her frail fingers touching the corner of the canvas gently. At the time of the boy's death she'd felt some sorrow at his passing, but he'd been more of a memory than a person in her mind at that point, so there hadn't been true grief until she'd learned how the Death Eater's she'd called cousin had actually died. That he'd died for family and honor, and had done so deliberately and with great bravery…for those reason she could mourn him along with the rest of her beloveds. She could claim him as family with pride.

But looking at him made her feel old and sad, and it was late anyway. It was time for her to go. "You'll eat the food I left for you, you've lost weight again. I'll see you on Sunday for tea."

Nodding in agreement, it wasn't like he could argue since he had forgotten to add a few pounds to his frame before she arrived, Teddy slid the photograph into his trouser pocket and then stated that he'd see her home, not surprised when she shot that down straight off. Treating his grandmother like the elderly woman she actually was was a good way to get yourself turned into something that was easy for her to squash under her foot. She only let him get away with it because she loved him.

So as per usual he was allowed to walk with her to the door and give her a quick hug and kiss good night before Andromeda headed off into the night, back as straight and erect as a steel pole. And then she was gone, and he was once again alone in the house that had once been Regulus Black's.

He hadn't grown up thinking that he would ever want to live in Grimmauld's Place, Teddy thought as he closed the door behind him, because really, who would? But by the time he'd been old enough to move out of his grandmother's house there it had been, his godfather insisting that he have it for free. Harry hadn't wanted it, and he felt that since Teddy had actually been related to the Blacks he should have the place and he'd agreed to just try it out. And damn if he hadn't gone and fallen in love with the place. Of course it had been seriously redecorated since the last Black had lived there, which helped its appeal exponentially. He'd seen the pictures, heard the horror stories many times.

And thinking about that Teddy headed back upstairs and stuck his head into the room that had once been Regulus's Black's bedroom, and had remained untouched through the renovations. But the room had always depressed him so he didn't stay long, closing the door behind him before going into his office and retrieving some of his paperwork to read in bed before turning in for the night. He still hadn't caught up on all the sleep he'd missed even though he'd slept most of the day before going back to the shop to purchase the portrait, since he hadn't had the money on him the night before.

Needless to say Teddy didn't get much work done before he'd decided to call it a night, stashing the paperwork on the bedside table before turning off the lights and closing his eyes as he snuggled under his covers.

And as he drifted off his thoughts turned again to the question of who the painter could have been, and what had been the nature of his relationship to Regulus.

)

Unable to sleep, which was nothing new to him these days, Teddy got up and putting a robe on over his nightclothes headed out of the bedroom that was all his own this year, two of his roommates having dropped out to join the Death Eaters and the other one having left after failing his OWLs two years before. Since he'd been made Head Boy Professor Slughorn had decided that he could keep the room to himself, and while he appreciated the convenience…it was actually sort of lonely, especially when he didn't want to be alone with his thoughts.

If he'd been plagued by the war he knew was coming Teddy supposed he wouldn't feel so bad, but it wasn't that particular worry that was keeping him awake at night these days. This was his last year at Hogwarts…and his life would be over once he left these walls for the last time. He would marry Juliette, save the family fortunes and his younger siblings' futures with her family money, and spend the rest of his life utterly miserable being someone he didn't want to be with someone he didn't want to be with.

Once school was over it was no more art, no more freedom, no more…

Pushing that last thought aside before it could even form into the name or face, Teddy shook his head and then continued towards the Common Room, thinking to find some peace of mind sitting before the fire, soaking in the ambience of this home away from home that connected him to all the people within it. He had been their Prefect and now their Head Boy, they too were his responsibility but one he shouldered gladly, both because that was his nature and because-

Coming to a grinding halt Teddy stared at the figure sitting cross legged in front of the fireplace, wondering in some still working corner of his mind if he was hallucinating, his most forbidden of thoughts coming together to take the form he loved the most. Reaching up he pinched both his cheeks just in case, stepping hastily back into the shadows of the doorway he'd been about to exit when the pain registered, assuring him that he was indeed awake.

And then, when he saw no sign that the other Slytherin had been aware of his presence, Teddy allowed himself to look as he was so rarely allowed to, his calloused and often ink or paint splattered hands literally aching with the need to capture the living art that was Regulus Black.

The blind and stupid at their school said that Regulus wasn't even in his brother's league when it came to looks, but he knew and saw far better than they did. They thought Sirius more handsome because he was like fire, burning bright and hot while constantly needing to be fed adoration and attention to continue to burn. The elder Black shone best with company, while Regulus was the exact opposite. Regulus was beautiful both in the perfection of his features and the fact that his was an untouchable, unattainable brilliance that intimidated or inspired envy in others. He didn't need anyone to shine, and could care less about the adoration or attention of the masses. The true beauty of Regulus Black wasn't about those sharp cheekbones, starlit eyes, or slender form, but the strength and power that lurked beneath the stunning surface he'd been gifted with.

He'd painted and sketched the younger boy countless times over the years…and he'd never come close to capturing that which made Regulus so stunning and special. Not perfect, he wasn't blind, thank Merlin, but he didn't think there would ever be another human being in his life that would capture him so completely.

And realizing that he was an idiot to think that he could stay where he was, Regulus was very observant and might already have sensed his presence and was waiting to see what he was up to, Teddy forced himself to retreat further into the shadows and then turning around headed back down the passageway.

Going straight to his bedroom Teddy turned on the bedside lamp and then went to his trunk, using his wand to open up the secret compartment at the bottom where he kept all his sketchbooks that were not for others' eyes. He couldn't keep any of his personal ones at home, where they could be found by someone else. His sister had found one once, and he'd had to bribe her with so much candy it was still a wonder her teeth hadn't all rotted out of her seven year old head. And thank all the stars in the heavens that he'd only been fifteen at the time, and his obsession with drawing Regulus hadn't been as obvious…or as graphic as it was now. Not that he knew what Regulus looked like nude of course, he wasn't a total pervert, but he was excellent at anatomy if he did say so himself, and he'd spent more time imagining it then he had drawing the previous year, which was saying something.

And flipping through the latest sketch book until he came to a blank page, Teddy sighed and then retrieving a piece of charcoal began sketching the way Regulus had looked in front of the fireplace, the flames providing the only light and loving every dip and hollow of that stunning face.

It was going to be another long night.


	2. Someone Told Me

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's the way it's gotta be according to the lawyers.

Someone Told Me

Okay, if it had just been the one weird dream where he was a stalker artist hopelessly in love with an unattainable bloke Teddy would have just brushed it off as a weird coincidence and hoped it never happened again since he was related to the bloke in question. But no, for the next four days after he bought the stupid portrait Teddy had dreamed of a teenage life that was not his own, and it was freaking the heck out of him. Thankfully there had been no nudity involved, so far the dreams were mostly just of watching or drawing Regulus, but either way Teddy was pretty sure that the dreams had to be a result of the portrait and that that meant he needed some expert advice.

The most logical place to start was to find out who the painter was, which Teddy figured was going to be a lot easier if the dreams were based on real memories. He knew the man he was looking for had been a Head Boy, Slytherin, one or two years older than Regulus, and the guy's initials. Those were damn good leads by anyone's standards.

So when he had a chance Teddy sought out a co-worker who would have been in school with his ancestor, and asked for a few minutes of the wizard's time once he confirmed that the man had in fact been in Regulus's year, though the older man stated upfront that he hadn't hung out with the Slytherin or liked him one little bit.

"That's not a problem. I was just wondering if you ever had a Slytherin Head Boy with the initials T.P. while you were at Hogwarts. And if you did what you know about him."

Eyebrows rising, Jude didn't have to think hard about it. "You mean Teddy Prince?"

"His name is Teddy? Seriously?"

"Theodore, actually, but no one called him that. It was always Teddy or Theo sometimes, though mostly Teddy. And it was his name, in this case. He died…damn…a couple years before the second war? I think that's about right. He moved to France a couple years after he graduated, and never came back even to visit his family here. I wouldn't have known he'd passed if I hadn't heard about it from some friends after the fact. Damn shame too, he was a real decent man. It was hard to find someone you'd trust to cover your back from Slytherin, especially in those days, but most everyone would have trusted him, he was the type that never let you down when it counted." Jude shook his head. "Heart attack, I think it was."

Still reeling from the fact that he'd thought of himself as Teddy in the dreams hadn't just been a coincidence, it took Teddy a moment to process the fact that the artist was dead. Then he asked the most logical question, which was if Jude had ever noticed this Teddy guy hanging out with Regulus back when they were all at Hogwarts together.

"Your-whatever he is to you…Regulus Black wasn't much for hanging out with people, Teddy. And that's a heck of a thing, you two having the same name. But anyway, your relative preferred to observe and use people as needed. Not really the sort that would appeal to Teddy or vice versa I wouldn't think. But Black was a prefect and a Slytherin too obviously, so he and Teddy would have spent time together because of that I suppose. Why?"

"I have a painting of Regulus that might have been painted by this guy. I-uh-found some information that suggests it was painted during that time, by a Slytherin with those initials and I was just curious about it. The shopkeeper was impressed by it, but said he didn't recognize the artist and all the other Black portraits were done by well known artists."

"Really? Well isn't that a kick in the pants? But I can tell you that if you're looking for an artistic Slytherin during out time Prince was probably your guy, he was always drawing stuff in his books. Used to drive Professor McGongall batty when she'd catch him at it during class." The old man smiled at the memories that thought conjured up. "Everyone liked him you know, from the teachers down to the first years. Those of us in the other houses used to tell him he belonged in a different house, but he'd just laugh that off."

"Yeah…I can't see a Black having much interesting in playing nice with someone like that."

In complete agreement Jude nodded his head. "Exactly. But if you want to know more about Prince you should talk to that bloke that that cousin of yours fancies but is always fighting with."

"Ah…most of my cousins are always fighting with guys, especially if they like them. A little specificity would be appreciated."

"I meant Ron's girl, Rosie. She's the one sorta dating the Daimon boy, right? His mum's mum was one of Teddy's sisters."

Trying to remember if Rosie and Sev were on the outs, it often changed from week to week, Teddy figured he was better off just dropping by the Weasley house after work to ask Rosie himself. That way he could actually talk to both his aunt and his cousins about what was going on and get their take on things as some of the smartest people he knew. He'd have to bring something to bribe Uncle Ron with though…he didn't want his godparents knowing about this unless they had to and Uncle Ron was a bit of a blabbermouth.

Deciding that he'd gotten the confirmation he needed, plus his break was almost due to end, Teddy said his goodbyes and thanks before heading back out to take the elevator to his floor, his thoughts whirling a mile a minute as he stepped through the elevator doors.

He had to admit that he was sort of feeling a little bad now that he knew the bloke was dead, especially since from the sounds of it all those things that the Slytherin Teddy had been dreading coming to pass in that first dream had come to pass. He'd probably married the girl, he knew from a previous dream that the fiancée was from France, and Teddy knew that the artist had never got his guy so to speak, and obviously hadn't pursued a career in art since he'd been good enough to be famous but wasn't. Jude had made him sound like a good guy, and in truth he probably was judging the other Teddy more harshly than he should just because of who the guy was mooning over. Making him moon over.

And really, he was only twenty four years old, for Merlin's sake. He wasn't so old that he couldn't remember, if he forced himself to, that most seventeen year old boys were ruled by their hormones and selfish wishes and desires. So yeah, he shouldn't begrudge the Slytherin for wanting to roll around naked with Regulus, the bloke had been gorgeous after all. And while he hadn't been a mess when he was seventeen, his nineteenth year had featured two very angsty, lovelorn and full of pity party months before he'd gotten drunk enough to make out with a former male classmate, which had not only put him on his first real step to recovery after Victoire dumped him, but it had also been his first real clue that he would very much enjoy rolling around naked with men as well as women. So yeah, he owed that former classmate big time on a number of levels.

Plus in the end the guy Victoire had dumped him for had cheated on her, and when she'd come sauntering back in his direction he'd been quite thrilled to be able to say he was dating someone else and she'd have to find someone else.

Grinning at the memory, though they'd long ago buried the hatchet so to speak, Teddy shook his head over his former teenage self and vowed that unless there turned out to be something more sinister and twisted about the portrait aside from making him temporarily lust after a male relative, he'd stop cursing the painter out for making it in the first place.

)

Arriving at the Weasley house after supper, he'd sent a message ahead so that they knew he was coming, Teddy was greeted at the door by Hugo, who naturally gave him a big hug because that was just how the fifteen year old was. Hugo was a hugger, and the most adorable one in England as far as Teddy was concerned as he gave the teenager a big hug in return. Technically he shouldn't play favourites, but of all his honorary cousins Hugo was, in all honesty, his. Hell, even Regulus Black himself would have probably thought Hugo was the cutest, most adorable kid to ever live, even if the Slytherin would rather have died than admit it. The way he heard it, most of the Slytherins the boy went to Hogwarts with had been done in by Hugo's cuteness powers whether they'd admit it or not.

Ushered inside once their hugs were done for the time being Teddy soon had hugs from his aunt and cousin, followed by manly back slaps with his uncle before he handed over the pie he'd brought with him, which was his bribe for Ron.

"Don't worry, I explained to him that we're working on something and he has to entertain himself for a bit." And so saying Hermione linked her arm through his and started herding him off while her children followed after them, Ron good naturedly going off in the opposite direction with the pie as ordered.

Amused by her Teddy didn't comment until the four of them were in his aunt's office with the door shut, all three of them looking at him with their bright, knowledge hungry eyes. "So yeah, the reason I asked you guys to meet with me, it has to be a secret between us four until I say otherwise, okay?"

Both Rosie and Hugo immediately gave their word, while Hermione asked for clarification, namely that this didn't involve covering for him doing something incredibly stupid.

"I'm not being stupid. I came to you guys for help, haven't I?"

Acknowledging that that was true, and showed a common sense far too many men were missing in her opinion, Hermione agreed to keep quiet unless she thought she needed to do otherwise.

Satisfied with that Teddy told them everything he'd knew, describing the dreams to the best of his ability and then what he'd learned about Teddy Prince earlier. He also stressed that there had been no blackouts, mood swings, or any strange behaviour on his part to suggest that the portrait was affecting anything besides his dreams.

"Fascinating." Hugo.

"Wow." Rosie.

"Thank Goodness you had the sense to come to us for help." Aunt Hermione.

Immediately the three Weasleys began discussing the possibilities, the matriarch of the family naturally expecting the worst from an inanimate object that was affecting anyone near it while the other two were sure that if the painter had really been in love with Regulus there was no way he'd turn the painting into something as harmful, especially since he was supposed to have been a really nice bloke. And besides that the man had died, which wouldn't have technically happened if a part of his soul had been trapped in the painting like Riddle's diary.

"Maybe it's like the love Uncle Harry's mum felt for him." Hugo suggested during a lull in the conversation. "How her love and sacrifice for him became a shield against Voldemort. Maybe he loved Regulus so much that he transferred those feelings into the painting somehow, and you're experiencing echoes of it because…you're related to Regulus?"

"I can't imagine the principles are the same, Baby." Rosie shook her head at her brother, putting forth her own idea. "But we do know that portraits can be infused with memories because there are plenty of portraits in the Wizarding World that are alive in that way. This is definitely different, but there could be similarities. I don't know enough about the process of making the portraits we have in government buildings and at Hogwarts sentient to really know what I'm talking about, but it would be a good place to start."

"We need to gather more information and you need to keep us updated about what's happening with you. And if anything changes to suggest that the portrait is harming you in any way you let us know." She didn't like the idea of the portrait remaining with Teddy, Harry and all of them would be devastated if anything happened to him, but Hermione was smart enough to know that male ego would have the boy digging in his heels if it was even suggested without cause. Until there was something that definitely pointed to the portrait being sinister Teddy would hang onto it for the curiosity value alone.

And if she pointed out that curiosity killed the cat he'd just point out that he was a badger, not a Gryffindor lion like her. Growing up around Weasleys had given him a twisted sense of humor at times.

)

Even while he was dreaming about the past Teddy knew on some level that he was dreaming now. There was some irony, Teddy thought in that corner of his brain, that he found himself once again holding a prefect meeting against his will. God how he'd hated those meeting when he'd been Head Boy, and to find himself having to conduct them again, with all the headaches that went with it, was just a cruel joke from his point of view. Right up there with the fact that he couldn't help but glance every once in a while in Regulus's direction, the Slytherin lounging in a chair towards the back of the room with an air that suggested he was listening but felt no need to join the group as a whole.

Personality aside Regulus was the best kind of prefect in that he wasn't bitching and complaining about his duties so long as they didn't interfere with his Quidditch practices. That was all the teenager cared about, he thought with a smirk.

And as always thoughts of Regulus took over everything else in the dream, so that Teddy was once again a different Teddy in another place and time.

)

By all the stars in the heavens he had a headache. He'd always thought that the former Head Boy and Girl had been exaggerating how hard the position was, but Teddy saw now that they'd actually been pretty quiet about how much the job could suck. Here he and Aurora were, in charge of twenty four prefects who for the most part cared more about their social lives and school work than they did the responsibilities that came with the title they'd been given, and if he had to lecture the younger ones about not abusing their position to lash out at a house they didn't like one more time, aka the Gryffindors and Slytherins, he was going to start tearing his hair out.

"Okay, that's it for tonight. Dismissed."

Not arguing with Aurora, he was ready to call it a night too, Teddy waved everyone off and prayed for the best as they all made out of there like a herd of golden snitches, his so called partner doing the same at lightning speed. She was pretty much leading them, actually.

"This is going to be a long year."

"You expected better of them?"

Jumping, both in reaction to finding out that he wasn't alone and the fact that that was Regulus's voice, Teddy spun around to see that the Slytherin had remained in his seat while the rest had abandoned ship. "Regulus. You-hi."

Gracefully sliding out of the chair and onto his feet, Regulus often reminded him of a cat, the younger Slytherin looked at him with lips curved ever so slightly in the barest hint of a smile, but was as close to a real smile as he ever got. Oh Regulus could fake smile with the best of them, but a real smile…that was something he'd been waiting for years to see with no luck.

"You can't please everyone. Just lay down the law and tell them when to show up and where. If they can't do it then it's on them to find a replacement."

"What about Quidditch?" Even as he said it Teddy barely managed to stop his jaw from dropping. Anyone else he would have said that to, but talking to Regulus like they were just two regular people wasn't usually his strong suit when they were alone together.

An elegant shrug of shoulders. "I'm the seeker, I can miss a practice or two if need be. It's not like they would or could replace me."

"Flint would be mental if he replaced you."

Tilting his head slightly in acknowledgement, Regulus lifted the piece of parchment he'd been given in the air, a list of his assigned duties and times. It was a subtle acknowledgement that he at least would show up when expected. And then Regulus was saying goodnight, using his last name as always.

"Good night."

As he watched Regulus headed for the door, though the other teenager had hardly taken more than four steps before he was stopping and then turning, heading directly towards him instead. Watching him get closer and closer, feeling his own heart rate pick up and his palms start to sweat, Teddy took a calming breath as he waited to see what Regulus was up to. Because there was always a reason when it came to this man's actions.

Coming to a stop right in front of him, hardly any space at all between them, Regulus's face revealed nothing, those night sky eyes as mysterious as the one outside.

"A suggestion. The next time you hold one of these meetings, you should look in the mirror before you leave your room. You might have gotten more respect if you hadn't had charcoal on your face."

Teddy could feel his cheeks flaring with color, though the redness faded almost right away due to shock when Regulus pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and used it to rub at a spot above his right cheekbone.

And then Regulus was turning back around and left for real this time, leaving him behind to stand there and stare after him.


	3. Photograph

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and all the situations said characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy.

Photograph

Staring at the yearbook in front of him Teddy shook his head wearily, wishing that every piece of information he gathered about Teddy Prince didn't leave him with more questions than answers. He'd spent the last couple of hours talking to the Hogwarts ghosts, as well as a few teachers who'd been around in Regulus and Prince's day, and things hadn't gone nearly as well as he'd hoped. Like his prior sources he'd gotten the familiar picture of his ancestor as a dark, arrogant loner, and Prince as being a nice, easygoing people person who had shattered the Slytherin mold as much as Regulus had fit it. The fact that two of the ghosts and one of the teachers had actually told him that he and Prince had a lot in common personality wise would have been flattering if not for the dreams and the too many eerie coincidences when it came to him and the teenager he kept dreaming he was.

And now he knew that they even looked a little alike, or at least like his actual face and form if he didn't tweak it and stuck with what he'd been born with. Not that he changed much, but Teddy would be the first to admit that he did like to mix it up when it came to his hair and eye color. And okay, maybe he helped his height along a little…and he'd given himself a more impressive chest when he was a teenager…but he'd started working out so that was all real now, thank you very much.

Glaring down at the picture he'd been looking at Teddy deliberately closed the book harder than was necessary, wishing that it was so easy to end his interest in the relationship between Regulus and Prince. If there had even been one besides a shared house and the fact that Regulus had been one of Prince's prefects. So far he hadn't found anything to suggest there hadn't been anything else between the two, which depressed him horribly because seriously, the Prince bloke had deserved better, but it wasn't like the bloke's ghost was hovering around so that he could apologize for his kin's past behavior and disinterest.

To top it all off, like the rest wasn't enough, there was one main thing that he didn't get, or to be more accurate one thing that bugged Teddy about the whole mess, and that was the fact that he couldn't believe that Regulus Black had been unaware of how Prince had felt about him. That just didn't fit with the teenager's personality or the way people remembered Regulus. Sure no one else had seen it, but there had been a war approaching and teenagers were notoriously self absorbed and off in their own little worlds at the best of times, much less when their world was going to hell in a hand basket. But Regulus…he couldn't see Regulus being blind, especially when the crush was so obvious to him when the two were alone together. Or it just seemed brutally obvious to him, maybe it hadn't been back then and he was simply projecting his own ideas onto the story. Maybe Regulus hadn't seen it and that was why Prince had lived long enough to leave England and live a decade and a half longer than his crush before dying relatively young as well.

Still…his gut said Regulus should have known and factoring in the possibility that his Slytherin ancestor had known that Prince fancied him…why had all the dreams suggested that Regulus hadn't minded being around or even touching Prince? Homosexuality back then…it had been a serious taboo and the Black family unquestionably old school when it came to that sort of thing. His grandmother loved him to bits, and even then it had taken her years to become completely at ease about his bisexuality. So yeah, even if Prince had never made a move, he would have thought having some bloke salivating over him would have been enough of a pisser for his Black ancestor that the teenage Slytherin would have lashed out and made it clear in no uncertain terms that Prince would be in for a world of hurt if he didn't wise up and leave him the hell alone.

Instead…nothing. Except the bloody portrait. Dammit.

"Teddy?"

Looking over Teddy automatically smiled at the current Muggles Studies professor. They hadn't been students together because Wren had graduated from Hogwarts just before he'd arrived as a first year, and then Wren hadn't come back as a professor until he'd graduated which was why their acquaintance was mostly due to his godbrother. James seriously fancied the man, though how Wren felt about James was very open to interpretation.

"Hello, Wren. What are you doing here?" It was still a few more weeks until summer was over and school started again, but Wren had a place in Hogsmeade so the walk here wasn't a long one.

"Returning a few books." Cocking his head slightly to the side, his long white braid sliding down his shoulder, Wren read the dates listed on the covers of the books in front of Teddy. "Your father would have graduated by that time, and your mother not yet old enough to attend."

"Looking into an ancestor of mine, actually. I have a puzzle involving him that I'm trying to solve."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Mind if I bounce a question off you?" Wren was a Ravenclaw, and he'd always found the man to be very good when it came to figuring people out. When he got a nod Teddy struggled with how to phrase his question. "I'm trying to figure out-if you knew someone was attracted to you, and you had nothing to gain from blackmailing that person with that knowledge since he's basically penniless and too noble to be corrupted or forced into doing terrible things-no, you've met enough Blacks and their relatives to get a feel for them." Scorpius might have been Malfoy in name, but his second cousin was definitely Black in personality. "Why would a Black allow someone unsuitable in the eyes of their society to be in his vicinity and risk someone realizing that that someone is in love with said Black. Wouldn't he avoid the bloke if for no other reason than to avoid the gossip that could result from their continued association? I mean Black are all about their reps and I just don't get it!"

"The most logical reason would be that this person meant enough to that Black for him to deem the risks acceptable."

Agreeing that that would be the most logical answer, but that he couldn't prove it one way or another since both men in the scenario were dead and couldn't tell him a thing, Teddy sighed and placed his head down on the book in front of him, groaning that even his dead Black relatives were giving him headaches now.

A flash of amusement crossed Wren's face before he lifted a hand to give Teddy's a brief pat on the shoulder. "Maybe try letting it simmer in the back of your mind, you never know what might boil to the surface if you give the facts time to come together."

"Well at this point it can't hurt."

)

After saying goodbye to Wren and putting the yearbooks away Teddy headed out of the castle, not quite sure why but feeling compelled to not head towards Hogsmeade, but walk across the grounds until he came to a spot where some large stones had been carved, both by hand and by time, to provide a scattering of spots on which to sit. He'd been vaguely aware that said rocks had been there while he'd been a student, but he'd never really made use of them. One of the rocks, he wasn't sure which one as he'd never bothered to look, bore his cousin Fred's initials and that of Gabrielle Goyle, a girl the boy had fancied since the two were hardly more than toddlers. She hadn't been terribly impressed by the act of vandalism as he recalled, much to Fred's disappointment. Of course using one's wand to leave messages in the trees and rocks on the school grounds wasn't exactly unusual, there was a tree stump near the Quidditch pitch that bore James's mark and Teddy wouldn't be surprised if other relatives of his had left their marks behind too.

Amused at the thought, and deciding to see what there was to see, Teddy started walking around to each stone, reading the names and initials, many overlapping as new students came and wrote over the old ones. Had he been paying more attention Teddy might have realized that he was arrowing towards a particular stone, the others barely holding his attention for more than a moment, but he didn't and felt no inclination to question his name browsing until he arrived at that stone, two sets of initials catching his eye immediately despite their weathered appearance. There weren't any other names overlapping them either, like something had prevented anyone from even partially erasing the letters carves so elegantly into stone.

R.A.B. and T.P.

Side by side.

"Ah, shit." Glaring down at the names, carved so perfectly into the stone, Teddy cursed some more under his breath and then sent up a silent prayer that some sort of explanation was forthcoming ASAP before the whole thing made him utterly mad.

)

In the dream Teddy was finally on his way back to the Slytherin dormitories to turn in for the night, having been delayed in his patrolling duties due to a group of unruly fifth years who'd gotten very, very pissed on whiskey they'd smuggled into the school. The alcohol had led to the boys thinking it was a swell idea for them to deface a few walls with anti Voldemort messages. And while he appreciated the sentiment, not that they'd believed him since he was in Slytherin, he'd been obligated to force them to remove the graffiti and then assign them their later punishments, which he'd had to go over a number of times because they wouldn't stop yelling or were just too damn drunk to get it the first few times. But now he'd seen them all safely back to their dormitories and could go to bed himself.

Smiling over that fact he was almost to his own dormitory when he spotted him, the fact that he hadn't heard the other Slytherin coming not surprising Teddy in the slightest as Regulus was very light on his feet. Moving out of the other teenager's line of vision automatically Teddy watched him closely, noting that the man's stride made it clear he was going somewhere specific. The question of where Regulus Black was going…now that was a mystery.

A meeting of future Death Eaters perhaps? He had no illusions that the bloke he was in love with had the sense to see the writing on the wall where the Dark Lord is concerned. No, Regulus was blind there, though hopefully not for long. Regulus was very intelligent after all, he had to see that joining the Death Eaters would mean crossing lines someone of Black's moral code would never cross. He just hoped the reality of what he was getting into struck his fellow Slytherin sooner rather than later.

Wanting to know what was going on, plus if he learned more about the people within the school that were thinking of joining Voldemort he could talk to Dumbledore about them and maybe he could talk sense into them…and alright, he just wanted to know where Regulus was going. And that being the case Teddy silently said to hell with it and hurried off in the direction Regulus had gone, hoping that he wasn't too far behind already. Tracking wasn't exactly in his skill set after all.

When Regulus headed outside Teddy hesitated again, he wasn't dressed to go outside and wasn't a nature person on top of that, but he'd come this far and so he slipped out of the castle too, covertly hiding behind walls, pillars and then the trees and bushes that he encountered along the way, his quarry never looking back so much as once.

He was actually pretty good at this, Teddy mused to himself, terribly impressed with his own prowess and thinking that maybe all those years of studying Regulus from afar had made him much better at this sort of thing then he'd realized.

Or so he thought right up until he found his arm grabbed and then used to swing him back against a tree he'd been hiding behind moments before. And while his arm was let go as soon as his back had made contact with the bark there was no question that he wasn't going anywhere as he found himself being physically crowded up against the tree by the slimmer but far more deadly body of Regulus Black, the sixth year moving in so that they were practically nose to nose, which stopped Teddy's breathing entirely.

"Have you completely taken leave of your senses?"

Lacking breath at the moment the best Teddy could do was shake his head even though mentally he was willing to admit that Regulus wasn't wrong to think that.

"You are very lucky, Theodore Prince, that I knew it was you following me. Had I not you'd be in an indescribable amount of pain right now." Shaking his head over the whole thing Regulus appeared to take a calming breath before his eyes pierced Teddy's own with a power behind it that had Teddy feeling like the other teenager could see straight down to the heart of him. "If you're going to continue to follow me around like a puppy you need to exercise more caution and awareness of your surroundings. If you don't someone is going to notice and start questioning why you're be doing something so stupid."

His ability to breath having returned to him somewhat, thank Merlin, Teddy tried to play dumb, stating that he had no idea what Regulus was talking about. He'd simply followed him tonight because as Head Boy it was his duty to bring Regulus back in.

"You intend to escort me back to our dormitories and punish me for my infraction?"

Mind not even functioning enough to question why Regulus would deliberately put a sexual purr to those words, Teddy was too busy dealing with the mental images that had resulted from the sexually charged statement. Namely Regulus on his knees, the too proud to go to get on his knees for anyone else Slytherin doing so for him so that he could show him just how sorry he was by wrapping those beautiful lips around the erection he was currently sporting at the moment. Or better yet them both naked in his bed, Regulus spread out before him so that he could kiss and touch as much as he wanted with the other Slytherin having to bear it and let him savor every dip and curve until he was good and ready to-

"Keep looking at me like that and everyone will know. I expect your hordes of fans and friends will decrease exponentially then, not to mention potentially ruin your engagement to that French chit. Go back inside, Prince, dock some points for my behavior, and then strive to STOP following me to the best of your largely pathetic ability."

Spinning around on his heels Regulus stalked off, the younger man's strides no longer easy and catlike, but more stilted, like a new colt still learning his legs.

)

Watching this, understanding for the first time, without any doubts, that Regulus at least had a pretty good idea how he felt about him, Teddy visibly shook from the impact of that realization before the next wave of understanding crashed over him, threatening to drag him under and drown him. Because if Regulus knew about his feelings than the other Slytherin knew he was a homosexual and therefore had a weapon against him that in their society could be as discrediting as pro-Muggle leanings. It was prime blackmail material, but Regulus had just told him that he could dock points from their house for his actions. That made no sense. None of this made sense. How long had Regulus known about him? Why had he never said anything? And why was the Slytherin, who horded information the way goblins hoarded their treasures, chosen not to use what he knew to his advantage?

Blacks used everything and everyone to their advantage. It was one of their defining characteristics.

Determined to find out, and saying to hell with the common sense and self-preservation instincts that hadn't been working properly since he'd fallen for Regulus anyway, Teddy lurched into motion, outright running after the other teenager without doing anything to try and hide his approach as he looked around for some sign of where Regulus had gone while he'd been standing around trying to understand the un-understandable.

There.

The moon was only at half its brilliance, but it was just enough light for him to spot Regulus even with the other teenager's all black wardrobe. And now that he thought about it he'd seen the Slytherin sitting there on that rock before over the years, so it must be a favored spot even at night.

Not that that mattered at the moment.

Charging ahead with a foolhardiness that Teddy imagined most Gryffindors would admire and emulate, Teddy watched Regulus's always perfect posture stiffen just a little more the closer he got, though again he was ignored right up until he was close enough for the other Slytherin to strike out at him. He was standing beside the rock when Regulus's head turned so fast the other teenager's dark hair flew up in reaction before settling around the face that was utterly expressionless except for the piercing eyes.

"What did I just tell you?"

Doing his best to ignore his instinct to either flee or apologize profusely, Teddy called upon the Slytherin genes many people claimed he didn't have and instead got straight to the point. "Why haven't you said anything before now?"

"Because apparently you lost what little common sense you have where I'm concerned over the summer. Not everyone in this school is so wrapped up in their pathetic little lives or the war brewing that they could fail to notice the way you watch and follow me. I'd bet the entire contents of my vault that Dumbledore knew almost right after I did." Regulus's tone took on a harsher note, though it was still coolly calm and rational. "And others won't be as easy to take care of as he was."


	4. Every Memory

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and all the situations said characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy.

Every Memory

_Still In The Dream_

Needing to sit down, which was doable since there was that handy rock right there, Teddy sat down hard, mostly oblivious to the silently furious vibes Regulus was giving off because his mind was too focused on other things. And when you had more important things to worry about than a Black being furious with you…well that pretty much meant you were good and fucked on a number of levels to his way of thinking, and you might as well write your last will and testament post haste before your life was cruelly cut short.

A hard poke to his upper arm. "I didn't invite you to sit with me."

"You talked to Dumbledore about me?"

"I simply made it clear that if he caused problems for you than I would cause problems for him. You are my Head Boy after all, and someone has to keep you from completely embarrassing our house with your inability to control yourself."

"You THREATENED Albus Dumbledore to protect me?"

"Focus on what's important here, Prince. I have far more important things to do these days than stand as your shield because you haven't the sense the Fates gave even Muggles."

Wow. Ouch. That stung a little, though only because he knew how the love of his life felt about Muggles. But still…

"You wouldn't go to all that trouble just because I'm a Slytherin and Head Boy. And I know you, you don't do anything without a reason. A bunch of reasons, usually layered together in a way that says you think the whole idea of hitting two birds with one stone is for amateurs. You hit the birds, a few squirrels, and maybe a chipmunk or two bare minimum."

Silence, and then Regulus spoke in a voice just a little tinged with amusement as he stated that he preferred more dangerous prey than squirrels and birds.

"I just picked them because they're small so hitting them takes more skill than something bigger like a deer or hippogriff."

The amused chuckle caught Teddy completely by surprise, he'd never heard Regulus make that kind of real, happy sound before, but then it abruptly stopped and the other teenager's voice was back to its familiar coldness.

"You need to stop trying to charm me, Theodore Prince. It will not end well for you."

"When have I ever tried to charm you? When I'm around you all I'm thinking about it how bloody much I don't want to look and seem like a total prat in front of you. I wouldn't know how to charm you if someone gave me step by step instructions because I'd forget them the minute I looked at you."

And embarrassed beyond words that he'd just said that outloud, talk about being a total prat, Teddy ran a hand through his hair as he looked everywhere but at the other boy, wishing the rock they sat on would just suddenly split open and swallow him whole.

"You don't even mean to do it. That just figures."

Aware of Regulus sliding off the rock but still not looking in the Slytherin's direction, Teddy pretended extreme fascination with his hands until his ears finally registered the fact that Regulus was listing, in really mad sounding muttering, all the things he'd been doing all this time that had apparently been driving Regulus crazy. His chief offense was apparently the way he said Regulus's name, as the younger boy rarely repeated himself and that annoyance was stated four times during the ranting before Regulus realized he was ranting and stopped talking.

"I say your name in a weird way?"

"Of course you wouldn't even realize that, why would you?" The muttering was low but audible. "You never pay real attention to anything but your artwork, your sisters and…me." Pause. "And you should go now. Why are you even still here? You always run away as quick as you can when it's just the two of us. It's what you do."

Getting angry now, it was generally a slow process for him but actually made him a force to be reckoned with when he embraced the fury so to speak, Teddy was suddenly overwhelmed with the fact that all this time Regulus had just watched him wallowing in his unrequited misery without saying a word.

"Well if I annoy you so fecking much then why haven't you done something about it? Why the bloody hell did you never tell me to leave you the hell alone or that you'd put me in an early grave like you did to Ceres Nottingham when she was bothering you? Doesn't it disgust you, upset you to know that I love you? That I want you naked? That…that…why haven`t you horribly maimed me at this point and crushed what I feel for you so that I could try and get over you, you unfeeling bastard!"

"My parents were married when I was conceived, therefore I am not a bastard."

Teddy wasn't proud of the short, frustrated, scream like sound he made, but he couldn't have held it in for all the gold in Gringotts.

"And I do feel. If I didn't…I would have maimed you by now and saved myself all the trouble you cause me on a daily basis." With that statement hanging between them Regulus finally turned and looked in his direction. "I'm leaving now. You'd be wise not to follow me in the mood I'm now in."

His gut saying that he should take that warning very seriously Teddy just let him go, watching Regulus slip into the shadows of the night like he was a part of them, disappearing from his sight just that completely.

And since he wasn't done being angry and confused and oddly horny at the moment Teddy decided to retake his seat on the rock and cool down a little. Or at least try to.

)

Sitting behind his desk the next afternoon, his paperwork sitting in relatively untouched neat piles, Teddy couldn't recall ever being so completely out of sorts about a messed up relationship before. And he'd had some messed up ones, his soft spot for people who needed taking care of getting him into plenty of trouble over the years, especially since hormones made fools of all. But even when a failed relationship had made him depressed or angsty or even really pissed off it had never been like this before. He'd never felt this ache in his chest that made him feel that something vital to his happiness, to his existence was missing and might never be returned to him.

That he technically wasn't even in the relationship, only seeing it and feeling it through someone else's memories, was like someone pouring alcohol on the multiple open wounds all over his body.

Was this what it was to really love someone? Was this what it did to you to be rejected by them or lose them? Was this how his grandmother felt every minute of every day without his grandfather? How could she bear this? How could anyone bear this? He didn't love Regulus Black, he didn't even know Regulus Black. And still…he felt the man's loss like a missing limb.

Before last night he'd mostly just been annoyed by the aftereffects of the dreams, the lingering desire he felt for someone he really, really didn't want to have that sort of feelings for. But the dream last night, getting all those feelings out, really letting himself feel and express them and not be end up rejected…and then to wake up alone and know that Regulus Black was dead…

"Hey, you okay? Are you hurt?"

Blinking hard as his godbrother's face was suddenly in his, Teddy smiled automatically, reaching up to ruffle James's previously styled red hair as he assured him that yeah, he was fine. Just feeling a little off.

"Well you looked like you were in serious pain. Seriously, do you need to be checked out? Did you do a Hugo and trip over something? Maybe you have internal injuries or something."

"You're the one who injures himself almost as regularly as our clumsy cousin, James. Really, I'm fine. Promise. What brings you by? Shouldn't you be off doing important Quidditch star things?"

Eyes still searching for injury it was obvious James wasn't total believing him, but the redhead didn't push either. Instead he pointed in the direction of Teddy's desk, where a large paper bag now rested smelling absolutely amazing.

"Have I mentioned lately that I love you?"

"No, but I expected people to love me so no worries there."

Shaking his head while he watched James get out the food for them, Teddy could only marvel at how much his little brother had grown up in the last few years. In his early teens James had been a bit of an arrogant arse at times, but he'd really come into his own since he'd graduated from Hogwarts. He really liked the man James had become.

Taking the fork offered to him Teddy was happy to use it, making a very happy sound as he tasted the really excellent pasta in front of him.

Having pulled up a chair so that they could sit near each other James gave him his full attention. "So why are you feeling off? Coming down with something? Work related bullshit?"

"No. More like…a musing…of how horrible real love can be."

"Wait…you fell in love with someone and didn't tell me?!"

He shook his head. "No. No I'm not…I just…I had a taste of what it is to love…to love someone that completely and totally. I don't know how people move on after they lose that." Fisting his hands in his hair Teddy couldn't hold in the sound of frustration that left his lips. "And there are no words for how much it's pissing me off that I haven't a bloody clue what happens with them. I mean I was peeved at the beginning but now…what if I never find out? What if I -he feels all this love for the stuck up little prick and it turns out that he doesn't feel the same? I mean the man literally died of a broken heart for fuck sakes even if it was little twenty years after the fact. That still counts and if he never got so much as a quick snog with the bastard then that's cruelty above and beyond a typical Black. But still…." Unable to finish the thought Teddy moved to drop his head onto his desk, only just remembering in time that there was food there he didn't want to smash his face into.

"Ah. Okay…" Obviously very confused James asked if there wasn't someone Teddy could ask about the relationship. And exactly where was he getting his information from, period.

Not wanting to alarm James, as well as knowing that the younger man would self guilt himself into blabbing it to his parents at some point, Teddy opted to tell most of the truth while leaving out the dreams. "I recently purchased a portrait of Regulus Black and upon looking into the artist discovered that they were at Hogwarts together and the painter was in fact madly in love with Regulus. How my darling ancestor felt about him in return is the question."

"Well here's hoping it was mutual then, otherwise as far as we know the poor kid died a virgin."

Opening and closing his mouth Teddy silently acknowledged that okay, if Regulus had shot the other Teddy down hard and never so much as let him snog him, then dying a teenage virgin would certainly be one hell of a punishment above and beyond the whole drinking an incredibly painful potion and then forcefully drowned by the undead.

"Have you tried talking to people who knew them, if you care so much? I guess your grandmother wouldn't know anything given the timeline."

"No, she doesn't, and Regulus apparently didn't have any really close mates, with most of his casual 'friends' are either residents of Azkaban currently or dead. I do have a lead on one of the artist's younger sisters, but given the time period I don't know if she knew about her brother's feelings for Regulus and me outing him to her, especially since she's a grandmother at this point…well it wouldn't be fair to give her a heart attack or wreck her memories of him just to ease my curiosity."

"Well…do we know her grandchildren? They might have heard something, or could ask their parents since they'd have at least met the man before he passed away."

"We know two of them to speak to." Teddy grimaced as he met James's gaze. "Sev Daimon and Alexei Dolohov. Though I suppose we could throw in Alexei's younger sister, though I can't remember her name and she's too young anyway. I just saw her at the train station once."

"Those two? Ouch. That does suck quite a bit, now doesn't it? And they're the sort that wouldn't help you out just to be nice, though I suppose Rosie could bribe Daimon easily enough with chocolate. I think they're together at the moment too, so if you do go that route better talk her into it quick before they have another row and he'll say no to you just to spite her."

"Yeah, I know. Working on it, so to speak. Or at least she knows, anyway. She and Hugo offered to help me investigate when I told them about it."

Raising the glass of water he'd conjured up to go with his meal James proposed that they toasted to the hope that Teddy would find all the information he needed without having to get too deeply into Slytherin debt.

Conjuring up his own glass with an appreciative smile, Teddy clicked their glasses together in agreement.

"So anything not depressing new with you?"

Teddy had to think about that and then, in a calculated move, decided to bring up the fact that he'd seen Wren recently, knowing that that would totally remove James's interest from his own life to the Muggle Studies teacher James fancied quite a bit. The less he talked about the situation he found himself in the less likely he was to spill the beans and cause his entire honorary family to descend on him with endless questions and worries about what he might be getting himself into with his damn new painting and the dreams that had come with it.

)

Hours later, after his work was done for the day and he'd eaten a hastily thrown together supper of grilled cheese and tomato soup, Teddy once again, as was becoming an unfortunate habit of his, found himself standing in front of Regulus's portrait. Staring into it as though it would suddenly decide to spill all its secrets, Teddy wasn't surprised when it didn't, his ancestor's face seeming to mock him which was a very Black thing to do in Teddy's opinion. As it was Teddy figured that he should just be outrageously grateful that he looked nothing like Regulus because if he had the whole situation he found himself in would reach a whole new level of weirdness. The fact that he was lusting after someone he was related to thanks to the other Teddy was bad enough already.

That blood-wise they would be the equivalent of something like third cousins was of some relief, particularly since he'd be the first to admit that a number of his family's many evil offspring were probably at least in part a result of far too much inbreeding.

"Did he think of you, at the end? Did you think of him?" Unless Regulus had clued the other man in somehow the other Teddy had died believing that Regulus had been killed for trying to leave the Death Eaters, never knowing the courage and sacrifice Regulus had shown in his chosen death.

"Maybe I'm being too hard on you, cursing you for not returning his feelings." Thinking about Regulus's death was making him feel guilty. "You were only a boy really, and in that time in place…even if you had been interested you were supposed to be the poster boy for Slytherins everywhere. You wouldn't have been living up to your own image if you'd let yourself be human enough to maybe fancy a slightly idiotic artist who loved you more than life."

Moving in close Teddy pointed a finger at Regulus's painted chest, though he didn't touch the canvass. "I just…I want to know how it all ends. This is like starting a really good book series and having to wait over a year for the next volume. And this is only after a day of really being frustrated with you. I mean before I was really just pissed at the whole situation in general and not having the answer to all my questions, but now I'm personally invested and it feels like I'm the one in love with you. Like it's me and I have no idea how you feel about me and the idea that it's completely one-sided…well it's a fucking hideous feeling if you're at all interested."

Naturally no response came, unfortunately.

Shaking his head over his own stupidity Teddy decided a long soak in his bathtub was called for, especially since he needed to de –stress big time. He'd just soak away his stress and then…and then maybe he should think about going out soon and trying to find himself someone who he could de -stress with in a far more pleasurable way. Of course that might not be such a good idea given the fact that the last thing he wanted to do was insult some poor bloke or girl by muttering Regulus's name in his sleep. Knowing his luck that would totally happen.

"Great…now you're killing my nonexistent sex life too. Thanks for that, you Slytherin bastard."

And not feeling the slightest bit bad Teddy resolved that he was going to force himself to dream about his past relationships and to hell with seeing any more of what had passed between Regulus and the other Teddy. He was done and that was that.

Hopefully. At least for tonight.


End file.
